Tailored Suits
by Ausiewanab
Summary: Viv Blackadder, from the JAG spinoff episodes Ice Queen, and Meltdown, relfects on her previous employer. Spoilers for Ice Queen, and Meltdown.


So I did it, I got my muse to finally work for me, and during the summer season none the less. Now grant it be, this story isn't something that I would probably pick to read, nor is it about a character that I much like. But it begged to be told.  
  
Title: Tailored Suit  
  
Author: AusieWanaB (Kara)  
  
Ratings: G  
  
Pairings: Hints at Kibbs (notice I said hints--therefore it's small and like most small towns in Missouri, if you blink, you'll miss it).  
  
Spoilers: It's based on the JAG spinoff episodes (thank-you internet for allowing me to download them to see them), therefore it has spoilers for Ice Queen and Meltdown. But if you haven't seen the episodes, you could probably read the story and not feel lost. It's also up to date with the season.  
  
Tailored Suit  
  
I can feel the sun beside me set as I exit the passenger seat of the black nondescript government car. I tug on my tailored black suit as I take notice of the reflection of the wrinkles in the passenger side mirror. It's been a little over a year since I took my tailored suit out of mothballs, which of course had to be retailored after a few years of non- usage. After I finish fixing my suit, I pull at a piece of my kinky hair out of my face and tuck it carefully behind my ear. As I shut the car door, I make a mental note of the scene-something my previous boss instilled into me. I noticed the three bodies with white sheets covering them to my right, with two more in front of me. I watch as a short, balding man pulls the white sheet away from the body, revealing the deceased's Petty Officer dress white Navy uniform. And at that moment, I felt his, my greatest fear's word come back to me, echoing over and over the two syllable word.  
  
_"Almost?"_  
  
That simple word was the end of my career at NCIS. I feel sick knowing that they will call them in, which will only make me have to face my old demons. I fell sick knowing that I was a disappointment in his eyes, and I was his failure, that I let my personal life get in the way of catching a terrorist. The very terrorist that helped orchestrate the bombing of the Cole, the terrorist that helped to take my brothers life.  
  
I lean against the hood of the black car as my memories flood my conscious. I know that at this very moment, somebody is calling the "cowboys" in. And I know that whoever the dispatcher sends out, I will know the agent because unlike the FBI, NCIS headquarters was small enough that at least one time or another, I met every agent working there. And whoever they send out will inevitably remember me, and ask me those annoying questions such as, _"How have you been?"_ or _"How does NCIS compare to working at the FBI?"_  
  
I listen impatiently to the agent in charge as he rambles on about how they have to call in the "cowboys" on this case. I watch as his mouth moves rapidly as the words that he speaks spews together, and at that moment, I notice that unlike my previous boss, this one doesn't have the ability to hold my attention, which could be because he's not yelling at me, telling me that he could always send me back to where I once worked, or how they do things differently than the people who at one time employed me, which in turn reminded me of how inferior I was to him and his team, even though he would never say it out loud, I knew that was what he was thinking.  
  
I wonder if he ever replaced me. I wonder if there is a new agent sitting at my desk, getting verbally berated by him for the smallest mistakes. I wonder if he kept up with the one female member of his team theme. Would there be a new agent fresh out of school, or would it be someone transferred in.  
  
I feel my head hurt as I over analyze my previous employer. And as the time slips slowly by, I feel that the likelihood of them sending him out to this scene slipping by the wayside. And just as I think that possibly my luck might have changed and the "cowboys" were going to be a no show, there he comes, strutting in with his team following closely behind him. I watch in the distance as Tony turns around with his patent ear to ear grin plastered on his face, he then mutters something to the only animated medical examiner that I've ever met. I quickly cover my face with my hand, in hopes that Ducky wouldn't recognize me and ask me out on another date again. And at that time I see her, a woman who was no taller than I, walk quickly from behind. I glare at them as her long legs help her catch up with Tony, and with a quick move, she swats him on the back of his head, which in turn brings a smirk across my face. When they reach the body, I watch as he orders them around, assigning assignments to each agent while he hovered around the body. And as she turns to look at me, our eyes interlock, and I notice that she must be ether new, or transferred in. She then pulls the camera out of the work bag, and at that moment I feel a pang of jealousy. Taking pictures was something that I was never aloud to do; I was never aloud to do anything but take measurements.  
  
I hate her. She must be perfect, the type who never make a mistake. One who is the boss's favorite and can do no wrong. I hate the way that she leans into his personal space as he investigates the decedent's belongings. I hate the she looks at him as if she's eating up every word that he says. And most of all, I hate the way he looks at her; like she's his prodigy, and that everything she does is his concern. Which is almost the same way he treated me, only that everything I did was wrong and therefore it was his concern.  
  
I can hear in my ear being told that we need to be sociable and to get up to speed with the "cowboys". And against my will, my legs move closer to them. I feel the dread creep up into my throat as we neared them. And when we reach them, she turns around and stares at me, almost as if she knows who I am and is already disappointed in me. And then, in the moment that I least expect it, she smiles at me, and in her eyes, I can see that instead of saying how much she hates me, she is saying that I sympathize with you. She sympathizes with me.  
  
After locking eyes with her, I decide that I don't want them to see me. And luckily, I am able to remain unseen behind my partner's back, which leaves me invisible to him, to Tony, and to Ducky, especially Ducky. And as quickly as they had arrived on the scene, they quickly go back to their van, in hopes of solving their case, for they took it off of our hands.  
  
As I walk back to my black government car, I can't help but reflect on my replacement. And although I never spoke a word to her once, and I never got her name, I feel as if we share a common bond that only I will be able to acknowledge. As I got in the car, the van pulls around, and he, of all people, sticks his head out the window and yells, "Glad to see the suit still fits, Agent Blackadder." 


End file.
